While my dream is to own a female show Bengal or even three show cats, a male and two females. I simply haven't had enough money to realize this dream yet. However, an unwanted Bengal finally came my way and I want to tell the story of his coming.

The Coming of Simba

The ad screamed: "

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Simba on his high shelf.jpg

I have a male 2 year old Bengal cat. He is intack. I used to raise Bengals I sold this one to someone and they used him for breeding. They did not handle him. So he is wild! I got him back but I am not able to keep him. So I am rehoming him. I can get him in a cqarrier. I can not handle him. Like i said wild! just shoot me an offer!"

I have long wanted a Bengal cat and always figured eventually a Bengal in need would come my way. When I saw this ad, I thought my time may have come. The cat was even in the same town I live by! So I contacted the breeder and went to see the cat. The cat was in a carrier inside a big dog cage. The breeder said the only place the cat felt secure was in the carrier. She closed the carrier door and handed me the carrier with the cat in it. She said she was afraid to take the cat out of the carrier because he would panic and might escape.

I peeked into the carrier to see the cat. He was a beautiful deep orange/rust color with dark brown to blackish markings. The breeder told me she had sold him as a sweet, social kitten to owners who caged him and used him for breeding but never handled him. The owners then dumped the cat back on the breeder (without returning his registration papers to the breeder!). The breeder didn't want him because the cat was "wild" and not able to be handled.

I asked the breeder what the cat's name was and she said the cat didn't have a name. (He had to have had a registered name on his papers though. Also the breeder only knew the cat was 2 years old, didn't remember his birthdate and had retained no records of her breeding cats.) She never gave him a call name and the previous owner never gave him a call name either. She added that if I didn't walk out the door with him right now, she would put him down.

I felt so sorry for this poor scared beautiful cat who never even had a name, who never had known the delight of a good relationship between human and cat, a cat who had never been petted or talked with. Naturally, I agreed to take him on.

I took the cat home and prepared one of my size 700 (huge) plastic dog airline crates for him. I've found out that cats feel more secure in these big crates because the crates are solid and a cat can hide in the back and know nothing can "get" him. If he wants to interact, he can go to the front of the crate. I put the food, water, and litter at the front of the crate so I can change the litter, tend to the food and water, etc, without having to come too close to the cat. This minimizes the chance of a cat escaping as well. After preparing the crate, then it was time for me to transfer the cat to the crate.

Gingerly at first, I reached into the carrier to retrieve the cat. I didn't know what to expect. To me, "wild" means a cat like Feraldine, a true feral, a cat who CANNOT be touched by anyone unless the cat is asleep under anesthetic, a cat who will strike out with hisses, and follow up with teeth and claws should a hand dare to get too close. However, this Bengal cat merely crouched in a ball in the back of the carrier. I easily scruffed him (the only way to grab a cat who might explode with teeth and claws on you or escape) and pulled him out of the carrier. He offered no resistance at all, NONE! I put him into the big crate with food, water, and litter, a box to lay in, and a toy. My first time handling that cat, and he was entirely passive, no aggression whatsoever. Wild? Hardly! Just scared and totally lacking confidence in himself.

The next day I decided to start workinig with the cat using his carrier, the one place he felt most secure. I set the carrier by the big crate, then opened the crate door to get the cat. He crouched in the box in the back of the crate, trying to avoid me. However, he offered no resistance other than this. I scruffed him with one hand while supporting his body with the other, and lifted him out of the crate, set him in the carrier, and released him. He quickly ran to the back of the carrier and curled up in a ball. I took the carrier with the cat in it and set the carrier on my bed. In between watching TV, playing Words with Friends, and catching up on FB things, I talked to the cat and intermittently opened the carrier door and stroked the cat's body. The cat tensed up when being stroked, clearly not used to it. I offered the cat treats, which he ignored. Finally I hit on a food he liked well enough to eat in my presence, the Purina ONE Kitten food. I kept him with me for several hours before returning him to his big crate. Every day since then, I've been giving him this carrier time routine.

The next thing that the cat clearly needed was a name. I settled on the name "Simba" because I like the name, I liked the Lion King movie, and I thought the name fit well for a cat who was part wild cat (meaning that as a Bengal, he is part Asian Leopard Cat) NOT any reference to the cat's temperament. As far as I am concerned, this cat isn't wild, he's just scared. I feel that with time and consistent positive reinforcement, his memories of his social kittenhood will reawaken.

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Simba on his high shelf.jpg

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Welcome and what a heart-warming story. Simba will now have the love and attention he clearly needs. You needed him and he needed you! I hope you will continue to update us on his improvement. He may never be a lap cat, but he will show you love in so many different ways. Congratulations.

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